Turkey arrests Emirati spies, probes Khashoggi link

Two suspected United Arab Emirates (UAE) intelligence agents have been arrested in Turkey, state news agency Anadolu said Friday.

Istanbul prosecutors are investigating whether the suspects have any links to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it said. The alleged agents were detained on suspicion of "political and military spying" and "international spying," prosecutors said. 

Read more: Saudi ambassador to Germany worries dissidents in exile

A critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, The Washington Post columnist was murdered last year at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate by Saudi agents. His body hasn't been found.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are close allies.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that it was possible the intelligence agents were collecting "information about Arabs, including political dissidents, living in Turkey."

Istanbul has become a major hub for Arab opposition groups from across the Middle East, especially the Muslim Brotherhood.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is viewed as a threat to Gulf Arab monarchies.

Relations between Turkey and the UAE have been tense due to political and ideological differences over Syria, Qatar, Libya, Egypt and Iran.

Turkey has sided with Qatar and sent troops to the country after Gulf Arab states imposed a blockade in 2017.

cw/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.